Austin Lowell | Sat, Aug 30th 2025, 7:26am EDT

Top Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups (2025)

Welcome back to another edition of top waiver wire pickups. There were some great additions in last week’s piece, including starting pitchers Kyle Bradish and Parker Messick. Both were massive assets for fantasy managers, with Bradish collecting 10 strikeouts and Messick earning the victory over seven shutout innings. Unfortunately, I did whiff on third baseman Mark Vientos.

I was this close to including him in last week’s piece. I even picked him up in my high-stakes league, but I featured the red-hot Brett Baty instead. While plenty of others I’ve focused on lately continue to break out, I’m still kicking myself over Vientos because I had a feeling about him, and Baty’s bat went cold. He’s also now well above the 50% threshold, disqualifying him from this list.

Thankfully, there’s still a plethora of new players on the rise that should be fantasy assets in the coming periods. There are even a few top-notch pitchers worthy of a hefty bid if they’re available in your league. These top two arms won’t last long, so make haste before it’s too late. That’s enough blabbing for now. Let’s get right to it.

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Targets

All players listed are rostered in 50% or fewer of Yahoo leagues.

Jonah Tong (SP – NYM): 46%

If Jonah Tong is still available in your league, run, don’t walk to add him. Arguably the best pitcher in the Minor Leagues this year, Tong made his debut on Friday. There’s little doubt he’ll do what he’s done all season long, which is limit base runners and strike out the world. With a funky overhand delivery and an obscene fastball spin-rate, Tong could form a nasty tandem with the recently called-up Nolan McLean.

For the stats folks, here are a few figures from Tong’s immaculate Minor League performance. In 22 starts across the two highest levels in the Minors, the Canadian-born pitcher registered an outlandish 1.43 ERA with 179 strikeouts. He allowed just two home runs over 113.2 innings and finished with a 0.924 WHIP.

Payton Tolle (SP – BOS): 27%

Payton Tolle faced off against Paul Skenes on Friday. Similar to Jonah Tong, Tolle was a monster in the Minor Leagues this year, racking up 133 strikeouts over 91.2 innings while producing a 3.05 ERA and a 0.848 WHIP.

The knock against him is really just his lack of experience. The 6-foot-6, 250-pound giant was drafted out of college just last year, and the majority of those strikeouts came against Single-A players. Regardless, MLB Pipeline has Tolle ranked as the 28th overall prospect in all of baseball and as the Red Sox’s top young arm. He’s a lefty who throws gas at the top of the zone that has proven almost impossible to hit. That pitch has already produced a 46% whiff rate (at the lower levels), which would be tops in the league.

Tolle also sports a killer mustache, making him that much better. From a longevity point, he’ll probably outperform Tong, but in the interim, if I had to choose just one, I’d probably lean towards the Mets phenom. That said, Tolle is absolutely a stud and could be the best homegrown arm in Boston since Jon Lester. Roger Clemens, maybe? Let’s not go too far. Add him in all leagues immediately.

Colson Montgomery (3B, SS – CWS): 34%

I’ve mentioned Colson Montgomery before, but the kid just keeps on hitting homers. Up to 14 dingers on the year, Montgomery is having quite the rookie campaign. The White Sox infielder has been a streaky hitter to begin his Major League career, but the home runs have come in bunches, and they seem to be in play once again.

Montgomery hit four home runs in four games this week, which pushes his home run total up to 14 over the last 35 calendar days. That’s quite a feat for such a young player. Montgomery’s home run barrage was slightly interrupted by a side injury earlier this week, but he returned on Friday and should be good to go for the weekend. He’s worth adding in most leagues.

Matt Wallner (OF – MIN): 10%

Matt Wallner should be viewed in a similar light as Colson Montgomery — as someone who can hit home runs in bunches while offering you a sizable amount of RBI. He’s up to 20 big flies on the season in just 275 at-bats to go along with 35 RBI. Four of those dingers came this week, and he even surprisingly stole three bases.

I threw Wallner’s name out there earlier in the year when all the hype was surrounding Jac Caglianone. While everyone was jockeying to add the Royals’ young slugger, I pointed out that Wallner came as a much cheaper option with a similar skill set. The only difference was that Wallner had already proven what he could do, while Caglianone enthusiasts were hoping for what he could do. As it turns out, Caglianone wasn’t ready for Major League pitching, and Wallner continues to mash home runs.

Wallner does usually hit for a low batting average, but since it’s so late in the year, a .230 average won’t hurt you as much as it would over a full season. If you’re trailing a few league mates by a handful of home runs, Wallner could be the difference-maker you’re in search of.

Caleb Durbin (2B, 3B, SS – MIL): 12%

The Jose Altuve of the Brewers has been a steady contributor of late. Caleb Durbin was a big piece in the Devin Williams trade to the Yankees, and while he struggled a bit earlier in the season, the stocky infielder has come alive in August.

Similar to Jacob Wilson‘s approach for the Athletics, Durbin rarely strikes out or walks. The Brewers infielder puts the ball in play close to 85% of the time. He doesn’t hit the ball very hard, but he is capable of leaving the yard as he’s now up to nine home runs for the season. What Durbin lacks in pop, he makes up for in speed, having stolen 31 bases in 34 attempts the past year in the high Minor Leagues. He’s been a bit less successful at the Major League level but is up to over double-digit stolen bases (11) in limited playing time.

While these numbers may sound pedestrian, it’s Durbin’s latest adjustments that have pushed him into fantasy relevancy. Over his last 14 starts, the rookie infielder has hit four home runs, scored nine times, knocked in seven and stolen a base. His average has increased from the low .200s to .256, and he’s even moved up in the lineup, batting second against lefties and sixth versus righties. Durbin may not have reached shallow league standards yet, but he is worth a look in deeper and keeper ones, and for those struggling to fill a middle or corner infielder spot.

Ian Seymour (SP, RP – TB): 6%

While your league mates are fighting over Jonah Tong and Payton Tolle, make the savvy move and pick up Ian Seymour. Seymour can still be acquired for next to nothing, and he could perform just as well to close out the season. The 26-year-old was lights out on the farm, producing a 2.35 ERA over 27 starts last year and a 2.63 ERA in 16 games this year. His WHIP hovered around 1.00 for both seasons, while he averaged nearly an 11 K/9 rate.

Since joining the big league club in June and then again in July, Seymour’s been used primarily as a relief pitcher. He was excellent in relief, maintaining a 1.77 ERA with a 0.93 WHIP over 20.1 innings until he ran into the Yankees two weeks ago. It was his first really bad outing, but he quickly rebounded in his next appearance.

Finally granted an opportunity to start, Seymour was masterful, holding the Guardians to just one hit and one walk over five scoreless innings. He struck out eight in the affair, which was extremely impressive considering the Guardians have one of the lowest strikeout rates in the league.

Seymour’s now thrown 28.1 innings in the Majors and has surrendered just 20 hits and nine walks to go along with 36 strikeouts. He’s now back in his comfort zone as a starting pitcher and is on tap to face the Nationals this week. The Nats are one of the worst teams against left-handed pitching, and wouldn’t you know it, Seymore just happens to be a southpaw. He’s still available in nearly 95% of leagues, so now is the time to get him.

Abner Uribe (RP – MIL): 42%

Abner Uribe is an immediate must-add. With Brewers incumbent closer Trevor Megill going down with an elbow injury, Abner is the clear-cut replacement.

The flame-throwing righty has produced a 1.71 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP and 78 strikeouts in 63 innings. He already has three saves on record this season and should be a top-15 closer while Megill is out.

Zack Gelof (2B – ATH): 5%

It may take Zack Gelof a minute to get going, but he raked in Triple-A this season and was a 20-20 candidate when healthy last year. His average likely won’t be great, but in that ridiculous home park, Gelof could produce handily.

The 26-year-old hit a home run in just his third game back and drove in four of the seven runs the As scored that day. He’s only 3-for-14 since his promotion, but has three hits in his last seven at-bats. Gelof is a solid sleeper for the final month of the season. He also qualifies for the toughest position to fill.

Joey Wentz (SP, RP – ATL): 6%

Joey Wentz has pitched well since joining the Braves in July and should be lined up for a two-start week. While the matchups aren’t great (Cubs and Mariners), Wentz has tossed six one-run or fewer outings over his past nine games.

Unfortunately, the Mets crushed him last week, but Wentz has looked sharp in his other outings, registering a .211 opponent batting average to go along with a .279 on-base percentage (OBP) and .311 slugging rate in total. He’s collected a decent amount of strikeouts as well, registering about eight strikeouts per nine innings. Wentz also keeps the ball in the yard with just two homers allowed over 44.2 innings.

The 6-foot-5 lefty isn’t for everyone, but the Braves have been playing well, making Wentz a decent two-start candidate for the week ahead.

Carson Williams (SS – TB): 11%

I have to mention Carson Williams again because after speculating on how he would fare in the Majors last week, Williams fulfilled the high hopes I had for him. The Rays’ latest shortstop started his big league career by going 6-for-15 with a home run, four runs scored and five RBI. He also stole a base.

Williams is a star in the making if he can just continue to make contact with the ball. Strikeouts were his bugaboo coming up, but after posting four straight (nearly) 20/20 seasons in the Minors straight out of high school, it’s obvious the talent is there.

The Rays’ feisty prospect will likely go through some rough patches as he racks up strikeouts, but similar to some other big names in the Majors, I expect him to produce despite the lofty strikeout totals.

Austin Lowell is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Austin, check out his archive.

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